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Legal Associate Jobs (NOW HIRING)

M&A Associate, Bowery Legal

New York, NY · On-site

$150K - $165K/yr

For attorneys out there that feel the same way, Bowery Legal is an oasis in the desert. About the Role: We're hiring an Associate , with a proven background and interest in M&A, to lead and close buy ...

Vast is seeking a Legal Counsel to join our growing legal team, reporting directly to the General ... Collaborate on special projects and assist the General Counsel and Associate General Counsels with ...

Goodwin is seeking a Legal Engineer to help design and build the next generation of technology-enabled legal solutions. This role sits at the intersection of law, technology, and product development ...

Goodwin is seeking a Legal Engineer to help design and build the next generation of technology-enabled legal solutions. This role sits at the intersection of law, technology, and product development ...

Goodwin is seeking a Legal Engineer to help design and build the next generation of technology-enabled legal solutions. This role sits at the intersection of law, technology, and product development ...

Legal Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$200K - $260K/yr

Overview: We're looking for a Legal Engineer with a legal background to drive Ivo's growth by engaging with law firms and in-house legal teams, becoming a trusted advisor on how Ivo's solutions can ...

Goodwin is seeking a Legal Engineer to help design and build the next generation of technology-enabled legal solutions. This role sits at the intersection of law, technology, and product development ...

Goodwin is seeking a Legal Engineer to help design and build the next generation of technology-enabled legal solutions. This role sits at the intersection of law, technology, and product development ...

Goodwin is seeking a Legal Engineer to help design and build the next generation of technology-enabled legal solutions. This role sits at the intersection of law, technology, and product development ...

Legal Location: Pittsburgh, PA, United States Join a company that is passionately committed to the pursuit of a better world through positive change. With more than 70 years of business and technical ...

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Legal Associate information

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$8

$29

$60

How much do legal associate jobs pay per hour?

As of Jun 14, 2026, the average hourly pay for legal associate in the United States is $29.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $19.23 and $33.65 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are Legal Associates?

Legal Associates are early-career lawyers who support more senior attorneys in a law firm or legal department. They conduct legal research, draft documents, assist with case preparation, and may represent clients under supervision. Legal Associates are typically recent law school graduates who have passed the bar exam, and their role is designed to provide hands-on experience while allowing them to develop their legal skills. Over time, Legal Associates may work toward becoming partners or taking on more senior legal positions within their organization.

Are legal associates in demand?

Legal associates are in demand due to ongoing legal needs across various industries, including corporate, criminal, and civil law. The role often requires strong research, writing, and analytical skills, and employment prospects are generally favorable for those with a law degree and relevant experience.

What can I do with an associate degree in law?

A legal associate with an associate degree in law can work as a legal assistant, paralegal, or legal secretary, supporting attorneys with research, document preparation, and case management. These roles often require strong organizational skills and familiarity with legal software but typically do not require a law degree or bar admission.

What are some typical challenges Legal Associates face during their first year at a law firm?

Legal Associates often encounter challenges such as managing a high volume of work under tight deadlines, adapting to the expectations of different partners, and learning to balance administrative tasks with substantive legal research and drafting. Navigating firm culture and building relationships with senior attorneys and clients can also be demanding. However, these challenges provide valuable learning opportunities and help associates develop strong time management, communication, and legal analysis skills crucial for career growth.

What Is a Legal Associate?

A legal associate is a practicing junior attorney at a law firm who works on cases for clients, conducts legal research, and provides legal advice to clients. Other job duties include developing and implementing litigation strategies, supervising legal assistants and paralegals, and representing clients in court. The qualifications you need for a career as a legal associate include a bachelor’s degree and then a law degree from an accredited law school, a license to practice law through your state’s bar association, at least one year of experience working in a law firm, and excellent communication and collaborative skills.

Is $900 an hour a lot for a lawyer?

For a legal associate, earning $900 an hour is considered very high and typically reflects senior-level experience, specialized expertise, or work in high-demand areas such as corporate law or litigation. Most legal associates earn significantly less, with hourly rates often ranging from $100 to $300 depending on location and firm size. Such high rates are more common among partners or highly specialized attorneys rather than entry-level associates.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Legal Associate, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Legal Associate, you need a law degree (JD or equivalent), strong research and analytical skills, and attention to detail. Familiarity with legal research databases such as Westlaw or LexisNexis, document management systems, and proficiency in drafting legal documents are essential. Excellent written and verbal communication, time management, and the ability to work collaboratively set standout candidates apart. These skills ensure effective legal analysis, high-quality client service, and successful case outcomes in a demanding legal environment.

What is the difference between Legal Associate vs Paralegal?

AspectLegal AssociateParalegal
Required CredentialsJuris Doctor (JD), bar admission often preferredAssociate's degree or paralegal certification
Work EnvironmentLaw firms, corporate legal departments, government agenciesLaw firms, legal departments, courts, corporate offices
Job ResponsibilitiesLegal research, drafting documents, client interaction, assisting attorneysLegal research, document preparation, case organization, support tasks

Legal Associates typically hold a JD and are licensed to practice law, performing more advanced legal tasks. Paralegals assist attorneys with research and administrative duties but do not require a law degree or license. Both roles work in similar environments, but Legal Associates have a broader scope of responsibilities and legal authority.

What does it mean to be a legal associate?

A legal associate is a junior attorney or lawyer who supports senior lawyers by conducting research, drafting legal documents, and assisting with case preparation. They typically work in law firms or corporate legal departments and need a law degree and bar admission to practice law.
What cities are hiring for Legal Associate jobs? Cities with the most Legal Associate job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Legal jobs? The most popular types of Legal jobs are:
What states have the most Legal Associate jobs? States with the most job openings for Legal Associate jobs include:
Infographic showing various Legal Associate job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 74% Full Time, 22% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 94% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 4% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $60,327 per year, or $29 per hour.
Legal GenAI Enablement - Senior Associate, AI Practitioner

Legal GenAI Enablement - Senior Associate, AI Practitioner

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Plano, TX • On-site

$128K - $195K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Retirement

Posted 5 days ago


JPMorgan Chase & Co. rating

8.1

Company rating: 8.1 out of 10

Based on 469 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

46th of 141 rated banks


Job description

Job Description
The Legal department at JPMorganChase supports the firm's businesses globally by advising on regulatory, transactional and litigation matters across more than 100 countries. The Legal Chief Data Office is responsible for advancing data, analytics and AI capabilities across Legal, with a particular 2026 focus on responsible Generative AI adoption. AI in Legal is a stated focus area for the General Counsel and senior Legal leadership.
As a Senior Associate AI Practitioner on the Legal GenAI Enablement team, you will sit shoulder-to-shoulder with attorneys and Legal staff to understand real workflows and quickly build working Generative AI solutions using LLM Suite, the firm's Generative AI platform. You will be a hands-on builder, designing, prototyping and shipping no-code solutions such as Assistants, Skills, knowledge-based collections and workflows that return time to attorneys on high-volume, repetitive work. The role is complementary to full-stack Legal Technology by handling problems suited to rapid no-code delivery while Technology focuses on full builds.
This is a builder role first. You will spend most of your time in discovery with attorney partners, layering Skills, models and tools on LLM Suite to compose effective solutions, iterating with users and shepherding solutions through governance into production. You will contribute directly to the team's reusable Component Library and Solution Catalog so each new solution compounds the team's velocity. The role does not require deep data science or full-stack engineering; it requires fluency in the Generative AI stack as it exists at JPMorganChase, strong judgment about which features and patterns to apply and the ability to partner credibly with Legal and technology partners.
Job responsibilities
  • Embed with attorneys and Legal staff across Practice Groups and lines of business to understand workflows, gather requirements and identify high-leverage Generative AI opportunities
  • Design, prototype and ship Generative AI solutions on LLM Suite by composing Assistants, Skills, knowledge-based collections, prompt templates and workflows
  • Apply prompt architecture patterns from the Component Library including two-pass summarization, anchored summarization, citation-or-abstain, schema-driven outputs and composable system instructions
  • Translate attorney problems into Solution Specs with edge cases, guardrails and success criteria
  • Move solutions through user acceptance testing, pilot and control review with Legal CDO governance and Legal Controls
  • Extend the Component Library and Solution Catalog so patterns, guardrails and templates compound the team's velocity over time
  • Partner with full-stack Legal Technology and central AI teams to identify when a problem is better routed to a full build and prepare clear handoff packages
  • Mentor volunteer AI Practitioners and embedded Practice Group contributors, raising the quality and consistency of solutions built across Legal
  • Support adoption through clear documentation, demos and catalog entries that help attorneys discover and use what the team builds

Required qualifications, capabilities and skills
  • Bachelor's degree and a minimum of three years of relevant experience in legal operations, knowledge management, paralegal work, in-house legal support, legal technology or an analogous role with deep exposure to legal workflows
  • Hands-on experience building Generative AI solutions on hosted LLM platforms (e.g., LLM Suite, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity), including Agents, prompt templates and knowledge-based collections, with a clear point of view on how to layer Skills, models and tools to compose effective solutions
  • Strong context engineering instincts, including the ability to take a vague business problem, decompose it into a structured workflow, define inputs, outputs and edge cases and iterate from real test outputs
  • Ability to gather requirements directly from non-technical stakeholders, translate them into a working prototype within days and refine through structured feedback
  • Working understanding of the modern Generative AI stack, including large language models, retrieval patterns, tool use, agentic workflows and evaluation, at a practical level for choosing the right feature for the problem; deep data science or model training experience is not required
  • Governance and risk mindset around guardrails, escalation, confidentiality, auditability and human-in-the-loop review
  • Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain what is being built, why it matters and how it will perform to attorneys, technology partners and senior Legal leadership
  • Comfort working independently in ambiguity with multiple concurrent solution builds

Preferred qualifications, capabilities and skills
  • Prior experience in financial services, regulated industries or another high-compliance environment
  • Familiarity with structured data formats such as JSON or YAML sufficient for schema-driven outputs and clean technology handoffs
  • Experience contributing to a reusable component library, prompt library or solutions catalog
  • Exposure to legal workflows such as contract review, regulatory summarization, document analysis, mailbox triage or matter intake
  • Experience supporting adoption through demos, training sessions, hackathons or written collateral such as solution briefs, catalog entries or newsletter contributions

About Us
JPMorganChase, one of the oldest financial institutions, offers innovative financial solutions to millions of consumers, small businesses and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Our history spans over 200 years and today we are a leader in investment banking, consumer and small business banking, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management.
We offer a competitive total rewards package including base salary determined based on the role, experience, skill set and location. Those in eligible roles may receive commission-based pay and/or discretionary incentive compensation, paid in the form of cash and/or forfeitable equity, awarded in recognition of individual achievements and contributions. We also offer a range of benefits and programs to meet employee needs, based on eligibility. These benefits include comprehensive health care coverage, on-site health and wellness centers, a retirement savings plan, backup childcare, tuition reimbursement, mental health support, financial coaching and more. Additional details about total compensation and benefits will be provided during the hiring process.
We recognize that our people are our strength and the diverse talents they bring to our global workforce are directly linked to our success. We are an equal opportunity employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute, including race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital or veteran status, pregnancy or disability, or any other basis protected under applicable law. We also make reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as mental health or physical disability needs. Visit our FAQs for more information about requesting an accommodation.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including Disability/Veterans
About the Team
Our professionals in our Corporate Functions cover a diverse range of areas from finance and risk to human resources and marketing. Our corporate teams are an essential part of our company, ensuring that we're setting our businesses, clients, customers and employees up for success.

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